The portal holds open like a wound of blue glass, and the corridor beyond bends wrong in the torchlight. Floating relics drift overhead as Xero stands at the far end, still turned away. Sakura does not move. Mercedes feels the choice sharpen between them, all path and no retreat.
Xero Matou
You keep forcing your way into my family’s affairs, Mercedes Machina. State your reason.
Sakura’s fingers tighten at her sides. Evan shifts half a step in front of her, and Allison’s stare locks on Xero like she has found the worst possible answer to an old question.
Mercedes Machina
My reason is her. You do not get to call this a legacy and drag her into it.
Xero Matou
She is my daughter. The Organization’s interest in her is not a coincidence, and neither is your arrival.
At the name, the artifacts around Xero tremble and drift wider, as if making room for the truth he is about to offer. Sakura takes one shaky breath, still caught between fear and recognition.
Sakura Matou
He knows more than he is saying... and he expects me to walk to him.
Mercedes stands at the threshold with the hidden corridor fully revealed. Whatever Xero is hiding, it is tied to Sakura, to the Organization, and to the family history Mercedes has been chasing. The confrontation is no longer about finding the lair, it is about deciding who gets to claim Sakura’s future.
“I edge toward Sakura and keep between them”
SUCCESS (Superb Agility, rolled -2)
Mercedes slides from the threshold and into Sakura’s line, claiming the narrow strip of space between girl and wizard. The floating relics turn slowly above her, their pale metal faces catching the blue glow.
Evan shifts with her, just enough to cover Sakura’s flank. Allison’s attention cuts to Mercedes, sharp and measuring, while Xero remains still at the far end.
Xero Matou
You position yourself like a shield. Is that all you have for me, Mercedes Machina?
Sakura Matou
She moved first. So maybe I do not have to.
Allison Machina
Careful, Xero. She is not here to be spoken around.
The corridor tightens around the silence. Sakura’s breathing steadies behind Mercedes, and the blue light trembles across old metal seams in the floor.
Xero Matou
Then decide, Mercedes. Do you want answers from me, or do you want to keep standing there?
“I keep Sakura behind me and threaten Xero, promising him that I will kill him if he touches Sakura.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -2)
Mercedes Machina
Touch her, and I kill you.
The corridor goes very still. Mercedes does not advance, but the promise lands cleanly, sharp enough to make the blue relic-light flicker across Xero’s face.
Xero Matou
There it is. Not fear, not confusion, just a line drawn.
Allison Machina
Mercedes, listen to him. He came here for a reason, and he wants you to hear it.
Sakura Matou
He keeps looking past Mercedes, like he still expects me to step forward.
Xero Matou
I want my daughter seen clearly, not claimed by assumptions or old guilt.
Sakura shifts closer behind Mercedes, and Evan’s grip tightens at the edge of the light. Allison’s expression softens by a fraction, as if the truth has been waiting here longer than any of them.
Allison Machina
Then say it plainly. Tell her what you came to tell her.
“I keep Sakura behind me and listen”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -3)
Mercedes eases Sakura fully behind her shoulder, keeping her there with a quiet shift of stance. The corridor’s blue glow catches on her face as she turns her attention back to Xero, letting the silence do the work for her.
Xero Matou
Good. Then hear the part no one bothered to tell you before now.
He lifts one hand, palm open, not reaching, only indicating the relics around them as if the room itself is evidence.
Xero Matou
Sakura is mine by blood, yes, but not by the life she lived. That was taken from her before she could remember it.
Allison Machina
Xero.
Allison’s warning lands softly, but she does not interrupt. Sakura stays tucked close behind Mercedes, listening in rigid stillness.
Xero Matou
I came because the Organization has started circling her name again. I want her seen, and I want the truth about who arranged the split, before they decide for her.
The blue light steadies on the four of them, and for a breath the corridor feels less like a trap and more like a confession waiting to be answered.
Quest Complete
Figure out what Xero Matou wants
Fault Removed: Complicated Ex